Tucked away on a quiet, woodsy road near the Coast of Maine, I came upon a small abandoned cottage at the edge of a meadow. I purchased the house in June 2012 and immediately began renovating the home and nine acres of land. On April Fools' Day 2013, however, everything changed! Not only has my home been reconstructed almost overnight, I have as well! I invite you to join this experience with me as I journal about the miracles along the way.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

The Big Clean-Up

So much happened last week that I did not want to overwhelm you in my posts. I decided to catch up with each post I write this week.

Last Monday while we were installing the new windows, the tree specialists were right behind us, trimming the huge, old oak tree that had split and partially fallen. (The Mighty Oak post on July 20th). We contacted Northeast Tree from Camden, Maine, and they were terrific. The job was so big and complicated that an insulated bucket truck was needed.

See how close the wires are to the tree?

All the limbs had to be tied off before dropping them.

We were hoping that they could take down the heavy branches without hurting any of the evergreens below but sadly, one of the hemlocks at the corner of the driveway, took quite a beating.

We eventually cut the hemlock back and trimmed it up, hoping that it will fill back in over the years.

See it on the left? That's before we cut it back.

There was quite a mess to clean up afterward but to keep the price down, we had negotiated with Northeast Tree to just drop everything on the ground and we would take care of the clean-up.
They were very careful and considerate and did not block the driveway with any falling debris.

The very next day, the big clean up began!

This is young Michael carrying a VERY heavy piece of oak. He made it look a lot easier than it actually was. I think he knew I was taking the picture and wanted to look super-human.

It's all cleaned up now and we have all the firewood we need for next winter!

Because the chainsaw was out, big Michael did not want to waste an opportunity. So after all the cleaning up, he decided to take down the last Mugo pine we had growing in front of the house.

We had already taken one Mugo pine down and found a Walnut tree growing within it.

(Free The Tree post July 13th)

The first pine we cut down was to the left where the walnut tree now stands.

It was much too close to the house.

I hauled the branches away as Michael cut the tree down.

Now the front of the house is not blocked and the meadow is much more visible.

While I was hauling branches, I discovered a sleepy neighbor hiding in the dirt.

He was well fed indeed. A perfect resident to have in my gardens!

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I would love to hear from you. Thanks for visiting the Catch Meadow Cottage Blog!

I moved to Maine 28 years ago and since then I have been fortunate enough to own and renovate more than 14 houses and cottages. I have a passion for finding something that no one else seems to want and turning it into something that many admire. I have always had a love for gardening and decorating and decided it might be fun to share this passion with others. I hope you enjoy the photos and insights I will post here. Thanks for visiting.
Joy to You,
Carole